Dracula: Sex, Sucking and Stardom

A thoroughly camp vamp

Jonathan Harker leaves his fiancée Mina to go to Transylvania, where he has some business to transact with the mysterious Count Dracula. When he gets there, he finds a jazz-handsy vamp obsessed with travelling to England and auditioning for Andrew Lloyd Webber. With a title like that, it was never going to be too faithful to the source material, was it?

Last Chance Saloon’s take on the Dracula myth has a lot counting against it: constant references to Lloyd Webber and John Barrowman and excruciatingly cheesy covers of contemporary pop songs (‘Suck You’ by Cee-Lo, anyone?) threaten to lower it to the level of an ITV variety show. And yet, despite these San Andreas-sized faults, the performers’ natural charm saves the day. Simon Naylor’s Van Helsing in particular is a delight, channelling Mike Myers’ Goldmember without ever straying too far into plagiarism, while certain set-pieces (such as the boat trip across the Channel) display an ingenious wit. A pleasure, albeit a guilty one.

Last Chance Saloon, celebrated purveyors of Guilty Pleasure Theatre, revamp Bram Stoker’s Dracula with their own brand of the ridiculous to create a slick show of absurd, deft theatre comedy. Follow Jonathan Harker to Transylvania where he discovers the Count’s evil plans and love of all things showbiz. When Dracula…